


Soroi the Substitute Father

by ArgentDandelion



Category: Kill la Kill (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Character Analysis, Father Figures, Gen, Healthy Relationships, Nonfiction, Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-15
Updated: 2016-10-20
Packaged: 2020-11-25 17:43:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20916047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArgentDandelion/pseuds/ArgentDandelion
Summary: Hypothesis: After her father’s death, Satsuki used Soroi as a parental substitute.





	1. Cinematic Juxtaposition

**Episode 17**

In episode 17, Ryuko has a conversation with Aikuro. The conversation eventually leads to a discussion about Ryuko’s father. Aikuro says her father made Senketsu because “he wanted to protect [Ryuko].” In the next scene Satsuki has a conversation with Soroi that also leads to talking about Satsuki’s father. Though the viewer doesn’t know it yet, the two conversations are parallel: they are actually talking about the same person.

In the image on top, a picture frame is in the right, in shadow, with Soroi and Satsuki on the left, in light. One could argue that both points are the main points of this shot. But why is the picture frame so important as to share the screen with Soroi and Satsuki?

It’s because of what’s in the picture frame: an image of Satsuki’s father.

As the Ryuko-Aikuro and Soroi-Satsuki dialogue are parallels, so is the shot. By showing the picture frame, it suggests that Soroi himself is comparable to Soichiro. All these years, Soroi has been supporting her. It’s probable that she enjoys his tea, despite its bitterness, only because Soroi made it.

* * *

**Dialogue:**

> **Soroi:** “Your tea, miss.”
> 
> **Satsuki:** “Thank you.” _(Satsuki’s speaking quietly and gently here, something she rarely ever does)_
> 
> **Satsuki:** “I’ve had a lot of your tea over the years, haven’t I?”
> 
> **Soroi:** “I’ve been making it for you since you were five.”
> 
> **Satsuki:** “Yes you have. Since that day…when my father showed me Junketsu for the first time. On that day, he said to me: ‘Satsuki, this will be your wedding dress.’”
> 
> **Soroi:** “So I’ve heard.”
> 
> **Satsuki:** “I suppose that day…was when all this really began. Seems like yesterday. Even this tea that I once found so bitter is now the most delicious thing in the world.”
> 
> _\- [A sound effect suggests Soroi moves closer]_
> 
> **Soroi**: “You thought it was bitter?”
> 
> **Satsuki**: “I never mentioned that?”
> 
> **Soroi** _[quiet but a little hurt-sounding]_: “With the first cup, you smiled! You said it was delicious! All this time, you’ve been putting up with it, humoring me. [he bows] I beg your forgiveness, miss.”
> 
> **Satsuki:** [a slight hmmph noise, as if amused] “It’s fine. Really. Perhaps I was more…compassionate back then.”


	2. Analysis

**Soroi the Substitute Father**   
_-With Research and Other Help by [Aguagi](http://aguagi.tumblr.com/)_

**Hypothesis**: After her father’s death, Satsuki used Soroi as a parental substitute.

> **Aguagi**: Typically, parents are defined as a guide of sorts, someone who raises and nurtures, instilling moral values as their child/ren grow/s. This is in the best case scenario.

Satsuki “grew up” significantly after her father revealed the truth about Life Fibers. It forced her to become more mature, and less trusting and carefree. She was no ordinary child, because she _couldn’t_ be. She had to save the world.  
Though a remarkably mature and ambitious kindergartner, she surely couldn’t handle _everything_ by herself. She wasn’t physically, cognitively, or psychologically able to. Though she was withdrawn, she still had a close relationship with Soroi, who was a source of comfort for her.[1](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/152058259361/soroi-the-substitute-father-with-research-and#fn:1)

If not for Soroi acting as a parent-like figure, Satsuki might have grown up isolated and less psychologically stable.[2](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/152058259361/soroi-the-substitute-father-with-research-and#fn:2) Though a minor character in the plot, without him Satsuki might be very different. The plot might not even exist at all, depending on whether a younger Satsuki was able to execute the early steps of her plan without an adult’s help.

Though Soroi is a _parent-like_ figure, he is not exactly a parent. From what we see, Satsuki does what she wants, without being restricted or punished by Soroi. The closest Soroi comes to restricting her is gently asking why she does or doesn’t do certain things.[3](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/152058259361/soroi-the-substitute-father-with-research-and#fn:3) Even that shows that the two have a unique relationship—most of the Elite Four, (with the exception of Inumuta) don’t question Lady Satsuki’s decisions.

But wait, one might say. If Soroi is a parental figure because he emotionally supports Satsuki, isn’t Senketsu also a parental figure to Ryuko? Unlike Soroi, Senketsu has little life experience. In fact, despite his fancy diction and mature-sounding voice, he is not even a year old. Furthermore, he met Ryuko while Ryuko was seventeen, and though Ryuko went through a lot of character development because of him, Senketsu wasn’t there to raise her. Soroi has been with Satsuki at the very least since her father told her the truth about Life Fibers when she was five.[4](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/152058259361/soroi-the-substitute-father-with-research-and#fn:4)

* * *

**Resources**  
-For further information on families (and agreement on Soroi being a father figure to Satsuki), see [this](http://fuckyeahryuketsu.tumblr.com/post/96449570425/kill-la-kill-the-makings-of-a-good-parent) post by Tumblr user Goop, who has since moved to a different blog. ([here](http://marshmallowgoop.tumblr.com/))

* * *

  1. As suggested by the lines “Indulge me just a little longer” in Episode 16. [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/152058259361/soroi-the-substitute-father-with-research-and#fnref:1)

  2. I doubt that even in this situation she would have turned to her mother for psychological support. [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/152058259361/soroi-the-substitute-father-with-research-and#fnref:2)

  3. (In Episode 2, Soroi says: “Why don’t you wear a Goku Uniform, Miss? You’re more than worthy.”) [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/152058259361/soroi-the-substitute-father-with-research-and#fnref:3)

  4. In episode 17, Soroi says: “I’ve been making it [the tea] for you since you were five.” [^5] KLK Drama CD 2, Track 2, as translated by Tumblr user Mikiryuko [here](http://mikiryuko.tumblr.com/post/113233895080/h0saki-satsuki-talking-to-soroi-about-her-past). [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/152058259361/soroi-the-substitute-father-with-research-and#fnref:4)

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my [Tumblr](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/). Feel free to comment on this article there or here.


End file.
